Clothes hanger



April 29, 1969 A. STEIN I 3,441,184

CLOTHES HANGER Filed Nov. 17, 1966 Sheet of 2 April 29, 1969 A.STE|N 3,441,184

CLOTHES HANGER Filed NOV. 17, 1966 Sheet 2 of 2 INVENTOR. ALMA/V056 75m M zwzZ/a Arrow/5m.

United States Patent 3,441,184 CLOTHES HANGER Alexander Stein, 5623 Meridian St., Los Angeles, Calif. 90042 Filed Oct. 17, 1966, Ser. No. 594,644 Int. Cl. A41j 51/14 US. Cl. 223-89 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE There is described a clothes hanger which combines a pants stretcher and coat hanger in which the support members for the pants stretcher also operate as gripping means for compressing the pants stretcher.

This invention relates to a clothes hanger and, more particularly, to a combination coat hanger and pants cuff stretcher. This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 552,110, filed May 23, 1966, and now abandoned.

A number of clothes hanger designs have heretofore been proposed which include means for gripping the pants adjacent, the cuff end so that the pants will hang in Wrinklefree condition. One such hanger-stretcher arrangement incorporates a pair of prongs which are positioned inside of the open end of the pants cuff and spring means to urge the prongs apart so as to stretch the cuffs in a taut lateral condition, the spring being strong enough that the prongs grip and hold the pants in an inverted suspended position. However, known pants hangers of this type have been found awkward to use since it is difficult to compress the spring while at the same time holding the pants and trying to get the prongs in position within the cuff end of the pants. Furthermore, such pants hangers do not accommodate the coat, so that the coat and pants must be hung separately.

The present invention is directed to an improved hanger and stretcher which can be used both as a pants and a coat hanger. The pants stretcher is, at the same time, easier to use. These advantages are achieved, in brief, by a novel hanger of the type using a coil tension spring to urge spaced prongs apart into position within a pants cuff. Wire loops are secured to the respective prongs which are arranged so that they can be gripped by one hand and the prongs urged together by squeezing the fingers together to insert the prongs within the leg ends of the pants. At the same time, the supporting members are arranged to hook on to a horizontal wire forming part of a coat hanger so that the pants stretcher and coat hanger can be secured in combination.

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of a further modification of the invention.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the numeral indicates a coat hanger made of wood or plastic and contoured to give proper support to a coat or similar garment. The coat hanger 10 is provided with a hook 12 by which it is supported from a clothes rod in conventional manner. A wire member 14 is secured to the bottom edge of the coat hanger 10, the wire member providing a straight horizontal section 16 on which a pants stretcher, indicated generally at 18, is supported below the coat hanger 10.

The pants hanger 18 is preferably constructed of two 3,441,184 Patented Apr. 29, 1969 overlapping rod members 20 and 22 which are preferably semi-circular in cross-section. The rod members 20 and 22 are arranged so that the fiat surfaces formed by the semi-circular shape are in sliding engagement where the rod members 20 and 22 overlap.

The rods 20 and 22 are held in sliding overlapping relationship by a coil spring 24 wound around the overlapping portions of the rod members. The spring 24 is anchored at one end to the overlapping end of the rod 22, as indicated at 26, while the other end of the spring 24 is similarly anchored to the overlapping end of the rod 22, as indicated at 28. Thus the spring 24 acts as a guide for the overlapping rod members 20 and 22 and, at the same time, acts as a tension spring for urging the overlapping ends of the rod members 20 and 22 towards each other.

The outwardly projecting ends of the rod members 20 and 22 are provided with double prong members 30 and 32 respectively. The prong members 30 and 32 are welded or'otherwise secured to the ends of the overlapping rods in the manner clearly shown in the figure. The double prong members are adapted to engage a pair of trousers at the cuff end.

The pants stretcher assembly 18 is supported from the wire member 14 on the coat hanger 10 by means of a pair of support members 34 and 36 secured respectively to the rod members 20 and 22 adjacent the double prong members 30 and 32. Each support member is made from a single length of wire that includes an anchoring end portion 38 which is welded or otherwise secured to the rod member adjacent the outwardly projecting end. From the anchored end 38, the support member wire extends parallel to the adjacent rod member along a portion 40 which projects towards the center of the pants stretcher. At the inner end of the horizontal portion 40, the wire is bent into a semi-circular loop 42 and terminates in a hook 44 adapted to engage the horizontal section 16 of the supporting member 14. The book is in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the overlapping rods 20 and 22. The hooks 44 of the supporting members 34 and 36 permit the pants stretcher assembly 18 to be disengaged from the coat hanger 10.

The semi-circular loop portions 42 of the support members 34 and 36 may be readily gripped by the thumb and fingers of one hand so that a person can easily compress the stretcher against the tension of the spring 24 with one hand, while inserting the double prong members 30 and 32 into the trouser cuffs. The hooks 44 slide along the horizontal section 16, permitting the stretcher to be compressed without separating the stretcher from the coat hanger. Thus it will be seen that the support members 34 and 36 are shaped to fulfill the combined function of a finger grip by which the pants stretcher can be held and contracted for easy insertion into the pants cuff and, at the same time, provide a means of removably supporting the pants stretcher assembly on the coat hanger 10.

In the embodiment of FIGURE 3, the stretcher is provided with its own hook, indicated at 46, which is integrally formed with the support member 34. The hook permits the stretcher to be used independently of a coat hanger, but retains the advantage of loops 42 by which the stretcher is easily compressed. The embodiment of FIG- URE 3 provides single prong members 30' and 32' suitable for use with womens skirts.

What is claimed is:

1. A clothes hanger comprising a pair of rods, guide means for slidably holding the rods in parallel relationship with an end portion of each rod overlapping an end portion of the other rod, spring means connected to the rods such as to normally urge the overlapping ends of the rods toward each other, means positioned on each of the rods at the opposite ends from said overlapping end portions for engaging an article of clothing, and first and second rigid members, each member being secured adjacent one end to a respective one of the two rods, the free ends of the rigid members being movable toward each other to move said rods relative to each other against the action of the spring means, at least one of said members terminating at its free end in a hook portion for supporting a hanger, each of said members includes a portion extending from the point where the member is secured to the respective rod in a direction toward the other member and a curved contiguous portion extending away from the rods, said contiguous portions opening outwardly and being spaced apart sufficiently to permit the user to grip the contiguous portions between the thumb and finger of one hand and to urge the two members toward each other against the force of the spring.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein each of said members includes a portion extending from the point where the member is secured to the respective rod in a direction toward the other member and a contiguous portion extending away from the rods, said contiguous portions being spaced apart sufficiently to permit the user to grip the contiguous portions between the thumb and finger of one hand and to urge the two members toward each other against the force of the spring.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein the contiguous portion of each of the members terminates in a small hook, the plane of the hooks being perpendicular to the rod members.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 3 further including a coat hanger having a horizontal rod member secured to and supported below the coat hanger, the hook portions of the member engaging said horizontal rod members to engage the members and the coat hanger.

5. A clothes hanger comprising a pair of rods, guide means for slidably holding the rods in parallel relationship with an end portion of each rod overlapping an end portion of the other rod, spring means connected to the rods such as to normally urge the overlapping ends of the rods toward each other, means positioned on each of the rods at the opposite ends from said overlapping end portions for engaging an article of clothing, and first and second gripping members secured respectively to the two rods adjacent said opposite ends, each of said gripping members includes a portion extending from the point where the gripping member is secured to the respective rod in a direction toward the other gripping member and a contiguous portion extending away from the rods, said contiguous portions being spaced apart sufficiently to permit the user to grip the contiguous portions between the thumb and finger of one hand and to urge the two supporting members toward each other against the force of the spring, and one of said gripping members having a supporting portion extending from said contiguous portion toward a point half way between the outer ends of the rods and then extending outwardly away from the rods and terminating in a supporting hook.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,243,519 10/1917 Healey 2239O 2,615,604 10/ 1952 Leonard 223- 2,829,811 4/ 1958 Baschnonga 223-95 2,902,194 9/1959 Eberhardt 223-95 2,943,774 7/1960 Hansen 22388 FOREIGN PATENTS 355,587 8/1961 Switzerland.

PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner. GEORGE H. KRIZMANICH, Assistant Examiner.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE PATENT OFFICE Washington, D.C. 20231 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3 ,441 ,l84 April 29, 1969 Alexander Stein It is certified that error appears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 3 line 17 beginning with "2 Apparatus as" canc all to and including "force of the spring." in line 25, same column 3 line 26 "3 and "claim 2" should read 2 anc claim 1 line 30, "4." and "claim 3" should read 3. and claim 2 line 35 "5." should read 4. In the heading to the printed specification, line .7, "5 Claims" shou] read 4 Claims Signed and sealed this 21st day of April 1970.

(SEAL) Attest:

Edward M. Fletcher, Jr. WILLIAM E. SCHUYLER,

Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patent! 

